--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By the nineteenth century, society had…" description: "\"“By the nineteenth century, society had given up burning witches. Yet the sexual exploitation of children continued. In late-nineteenth-century Britain..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/patrick-j-carnes-33171_19th-century_by-the-nineteenth-century-society-had-gi_2740381.jpg" --- # By the nineteenth century, society had given up burning… ![“By the nineteenth century, society had given up burning witches. Yet the sexual exploitation of children continued. In late-nineteenth-century Britain, for example, men who raped young girls were excused because they did it to cure venereal disease. There was a widely held belief that children…” quote by Patrick J. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/patrick-j-carnes-33171_19th-century_by-the-nineteenth-century-society-had-gi_2740381.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/patrick-j-carnes-33171_19th-century_by-the-nineteenth-century-society-had-gi_2740381.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/patrick-j-carnes-33171_19th-century_by-the-nineteenth-century-society-had-gi_2740381.jpg) > ““By the nineteenth century, society had given up burning witches. Yet the sexual exploitation of children continued. In late-nineteenth-century Britain, for example, men who raped young girls were excused because they did it to cure venereal disease. There was a widely held belief that children would take "poisons" out of the body. In fact, leprosy, venereal disease, depression, and impotence were part of a wide range of maladies believed cured by having sex with the young. An English medical text of the time reads, "Breaking a maiden's seal is one of the best antidotes for one's ills. Cudgeling her unceasingly, until she swoons away, is a mighty remedy for man's depression. It cures all impotence.”” [Patrick J. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-carnes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical attitudes treated sexual abuse of children as a medical cure, reflecting dangerous myths about disease and morality. **In simple terms:** People once believed sex with children could cure illnesses. Key Takeaway Reject harmful myths and protect children. Themes history sexual abuse medical myths Mood somber critical Type historical cautionary When to use this quote - medical practice - legal reform - education - advocacy Key Concepts pseudoscience power dynamics victim blaming Questions to Reflect On - How do cultural myths shape harmful policies? - What safeguards prevent medical misuse of vulnerable groups? A Different Perspective Such beliefs ignored consent and caused lasting trauma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [19th century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/19th-century/) [Believed Cured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed-cured-3023195/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Cure Venereal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cure-venereal-3023192/) [Cured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cured/) [Cured Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cured-having-3023194/) [Cures Impotence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cures-impotence-3023193/) [Having sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-sex/) [Sexual abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual-abuse/) [Young girls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-girls/) ## Related quotes > [Let us not seek our disease out of ourselves; 'tis in us, and planted in our bowels; and the mere fact that we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/let-us-not-seek-our-disease-out-of-ourselves-tis-in-us-and-planted-in/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [You think everything can be magically cured with vitamins?” “Everything but us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/you-think-everything-can-be-magically-cured-with-vitamins-everything/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [“For what you can fix, there are a hundred remedies. For what cannot be cured, not even words will do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/for-what-you-can-fix-there-are-a-hundred-remedies-for-what-cannot-be/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“I blinked and cured my brain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-blinked-and-cured-my-brain/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) > [“Life can't be cured, it can be managed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-vizzini/life-can-t-be-cured-it-can-be-managed/) [Ned Vizzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-vizzini/) > [The mark of the procedure. A real one. 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Stupidity is not one of them. - Leon”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernhardt/many-things-can-be-cured-with-experience-and-training-stupidity-is/) [William Bernhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernhardt/) > [Wounds cannot be cured without searching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/wounds-cannot-be-cured-without-searching/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [“I was being cured of soldiering on endlessly: my job was now to be still, which had become almost easy at last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-was-being-cured-of-soldiering-on-endlessly-my-job-was-now-to-be/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [The happiest moment in my life? When my doctor told me I was completely cured of leukemia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-carreras/the-happiest-moment-in-my-life-when-my-doctor-told-me-i-was/) [Jose Carreras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-carreras/) ## More by Patrick J. Carnes > [“Betrayal, addiction and trauma weave a design of continually recycled wounds that create an overarching pattern of compulsive relationships.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-j-carnes/betrayal-addiction-and-trauma-weave-a-design-of-continually-recycled/) [Patrick J. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-carnes/) > [“In part this is an intimacy disorder, for as soon as she starts to recommit to the relationship, he starts distancing himself. The intensity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-j-carnes/in-part-this-is-an-intimacy-disorder-for-as-soon-as-she-starts-to/) [Patrick J. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-carnes/) > [“What moves betrayal into the realm of trauma is fear and terror. If the wound is deep enough, and the terror big enough, your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-j-carnes/what-moves-betrayal-into-the-realm-of-trauma-is-fear-and-terror-if/) [Patrick J. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-carnes/) > [“However, sexual anorexics do have a definite profile that separates them from the larger population of those having difficulty being sexual: They are often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-j-carnes/however-sexual-anorexics-do-have-a-definite-profile-that-separates/) [Patrick J. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-carnes/) > [“Loyalty to that which does not work, or worse, to a person who is toxic, exploitive or destructive to you, is a form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-j-carnes/loyalty-to-that-which-does-not-work-or-worse-to-a-person-who-is-toxic/) [Patrick J. 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Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-carnes/) > [“By the Middles Ages it was a sin to have sex with a child. If an adult were guilty of such a sin, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-j-carnes/by-the-middles-ages-it-was-a-sin-to-have-sex-with-a-child-if-an-adult/) [Patrick J. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-carnes/) > [“They are often extremely competent people who are committed to doing things very well and have a fear of making mistakes and being human.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-j-carnes/they-are-often-extremely-competent-people-who-are-committed-to-doing/) [Patrick J. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-carnes/) > [“It is also the soothing, medicating and nurturing that are part of betrayal bonding. Both partners are obsessed with whether she is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-j-carnes/it-is-also-the-soothing-medicating-and-nurturing-that-are-part-of/) [Patrick J. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-carnes/) > [“We are so used to our own history, we do not see it as remarkable or out of the ordinary, whereas others might see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-j-carnes/we-are-so-used-to-our-own-history-we-do-not-see-it-as-remarkable-or/) [patrick j. carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-carnes/) > [“In the 1980s, research on post traumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans was regarded as important, noble, and useful. When the same researchers looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-j-carnes/in-the-1980s-research-on-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-in-vietnam/) [Patrick J. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-carnes/) > [“Much energy goes into looking good and shoring up any holes that may appear in that image. This is where the pain starts, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-j-carnes/much-energy-goes-into-looking-good-and-shoring-up-any-holes-that-may/) [Patrick J. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-carnes/) [Explore all 15 Patrick J. Carnes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-carnes/) ## More 19th century quotes > [Though my grandmother had picked up modern ideas in America, she still had some conflicting 19th-century Irish notions. She believed that daughters, educated though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-mahoney/though-my-grandmother-had-picked-up-modern-ideas-in-america-she-still/) [Rosemary Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-mahoney/) > [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Washington was no politician as we understand the word," replied Ratcliffe abruptly. "He stood outside of politics. The thing couldn't be done today. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/washington-was-no-politician-as-we-understand-the-word-replied/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Then years back, when I moved to California, I happened to see a book about fashions of 19th-century Victorian England, only four pages of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/then-years-back-when-i-moved-to-california-i-happened-to-see-a-book/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Like the railroads that brought us together in the 19th century, these trails will bring us together in the 20th and 21st centuries. (at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/like-the-railroads-that-brought-us-together-in-the-19th-century-these/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [By tracing the careers of the four members of the Philosophical Breakfast Club, Laura Snyder has found a wonderful way not just to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-standage/by-tracing-the-careers-of-the-four-members-of-the-philosophical/) [Tom Standage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-standage/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [ . . . Luddites were those frenzied traditionalists of the early 19th century who toured \[England\] wrecking new weaving machines on the theory that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/luddites-were-those-frenzied-traditionalists-of-the-early-19th/) [James A. 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I don't think that today's women see motherhood as a source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-wright/an-ethic-of-maternalism-was-central-to-the-utopianism-of-19th-century/) [Clare Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-wright/) [Browse all 383 19th century quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/19th-century/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“By the nineteenth century, society had given up burning witches. Yet the sexual exploitation of children continued. In late-nineteenth-century Britain, for example, men who raped young girls were excused because they did it to cure venereal disease. There was a widely held belief that children would take \"poisons\" out of the body. In fact, leprosy, venereal disease, depression, and impotence were part of a wide range of maladies believed cured by having sex with the young. 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